A matinee for students of Sioux Falls Lutheran School was done during the middle of the school day

Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church from Pierre, South Dakota reached out to Mariachi San Pablo earlier in the year, inviting them for a weekend concert tour.  They’ve been bringing down members of their church to Ysleta Lutheran Mission Human Care (YLM) since 2009.  Along with building houses, they distribute over 2000 Spanish Bibles and children’s books every year.

“Last year, they were one of four teams to come down,” Luz, YLM’s Servant Event Logistics Facilitator, shared, “Dennis and Carolyn, who have organized these trips since the first one, shared how much they desired to have more people in the South Dakota district learn about YLM and all it does.  This year, they brought with them a team of 23, built two houses, hosted a 3-day VBS with over 30 kids in Kilometer 30, and distributed close to 2000 Spanish Bibles, children’s books, and little wooden cars handmade by an elderly gentleman from their church.”

A concert was held in Main Street Square of Rapid City, with almost 150 attending

Faith wanted to do more in helping spread the news of how lives are changed daily through YLM, and so, the last weekend of August, they hosted six members of Mariachi San Pablo, as well as invited Pastor John Benito Morejón, now serving at Trinity Lutheran Church in Grand Island, NE, for the purpose of spreading the Gospel mariachi style.

“They helped schedule the other concerts we did,” Maritza, violinist with Mariachi San Pablo, shared the week after their return, “They drove us, housed us, fed us, and all we had to do was warm up, perform, and share about God’s love through YLM.”

Pastor Stephen preached for both Sunday morning services at Faith Lutheran

The first concert was on Friday, August 28^th, at the brand-new Sioux Falls Lutheran School in Sioux Falls.  They performed a matinee for the students, many of which danced to the lively music, then held a 7pm concert with almost 150 in attendance.

“It was great,” Sonya Gunderson, along with her husband Myron, shared over a text message, “We had never been to an actual concert of theirs.  We really enjoyed it!”

Myron and Sonya have been coming to YLM through the Servant Event ministry since 2002, and they did the drive from Vergas, Minnesota to Sioux Falls to enjoy Mariachi San Pablo’s music.  They weren’t the only out-of-state attendees to make the drive to one of the four concert locations in South Dakota.

Over 400 came to Pierre’s Steamboat Park to eat, fellowship, and enjoy the music of Mariachi San Pablo

Jayne, who has been coming to YLM since the 1990s, drove from White Bear Lake, Minnesota to South Dakota and met the mariachi at each of their concert locations to help with the sound.  “I do this at my church,” Jayne explained, “And when I’m at YLM, I help with San Pablo’s sound during church services.  It was a joy to get to help Mariachi San Pablo in this way.  I love their music and I enjoyed seeing others experience it for the first time.”

Close to 150 attended the concert held in the Main Street Square of Rapid City and more than 400 came to the Pierre concert, which was held at the Amphitheater in Steamboat Park.  There was food, activities for children, and it became a wonderful opportunity to share the Good News to people who just stopped by to see what was going on.

Sunday morning had them contributing to the worship experience for Faith’s services, with Pastor Stephen Heimer, trumpet player with Mariachi San Pablo, given the honor to preach.  For many, it was truly a beautiful service, with Mariachi San Pablo accompanying the Faith congregation.

The overall experience allowed for many opportunities to share the Gospel, to proclaim God’s love, and to give the chance to learn how God is changing lives every day in so many different ways.